Little details

Good morning.

The time is inching forward, closer to me being able to move up and start refurbishment. The thing with buying a property the other side of the country is that you don't get much time to view it and absorb all the details before you have to head back down south.

Luckily most things are getting tied up down here and it is not too long before I will be there and this tale of dust and dreams will begin in earnest.

We were fortunate to be able to grab a few hours again in the property this last week as we squeezed in a last visit before the new term begins.

This isn't a "Grand Chateau" by any means but as we looked around we we can see signs of some original features perhaps, hidden under the layers, which it will be exciting to see if indeed they are still there.

If nothing else, there appear to be fun wallpapers layered together. So, here are some of the details in picture form.

 We are trying hard, and failing, to imagine what the kitchen looked like when this was the wallpaper.

 The lounge was slightly less psychedelic.

 The dining room papers are quite sweet, as an artist I am looking forward to trying to see larger pieces as I think this could be a lovely design.

 One of my favourite discoveries this time was noticing that the window sills in the courtyard are these beautiful natural stone.

 Can't beat a nice bit of wood and rusty ironmongery.

 Yesterday's news tucked into the nooks and crannies of the barn.

Can't help but wonder if the original  door is hiding beneath this plywood.....

And, lastly, aged and threadbare carpeting hiding gorgeous wood.

Little treasures hopefully will come to light as we start peeling back the layers. Until then, we sit and dream and plan our project to bring this tired old property back to life.

We had a dream.....

Hi there folks.

Whether you have stumbled across this blog by accident or design we bid you a hearty welcome and invite you to share this exciting, crazy and slightly terrifying journey with us.

So, who are we? We are just your average husband and wife team who have, like many others, dreamt of leaving the rat race and busyness of today's hectic life behind us to live a simpler, more creative life - one filled with simple pleasures.

Well, we have stopped dreaming about it and taken the first step on the journey by buying ourselves a nice little fixer upper in the delightful Eden valley in Cumbria.  Our children are of course, torn between amusement and concern that their parents have finally lost the plot.

The jury is still out for our friends and colleagues......

Anyway, that's enough about us for now. If you stick around long enough you will get to know us more.

Did we say it was a bit of a fixer upper?

Only joking. This is actually our "garage"  I use the term loosely, as parking a car inside could be rather risky in my opinion. My husband on the other hand, is currently waxing lyrical about it's potential: the summer studio; a mini distillery or perhaps a Steampunk grotto. Did I mention that my husband is an artist?

We'll introduce the house to you properly a little later as we don't want to overwhelm you. After all, we've just met.

Soon we will be knee deep in wallpaper peelings, plaster dust and a gazillion spiderwebs need to disappear too. Exciting times lie ahead we're sure and it would be lovely if you shared our journey with us. In the middle of the renovation chaos there will be picnics a plenty and countryside meanderings to share.

Our journey begins...